After Surendran, Krishnakumar too eyes Vattiyoorkavu; LSG and Lok Sabha results prove tempting

Thiruvananthapuram: There is intense tussle within the BJP over contesting from Vattiyoorkavu in the Assembly elections. After R Sreelekha and K Surendran, G Krishnakumar has now entered the fray by expressing his interest. Initially, R Sreelekha’s name was under consideration. However, during discussions held the other day, former state BJP president K Surendran conveyed his interest, following which Sreelekha expressed her displeasure. It is in the wake of this that Krishnakumar has now come forward publicly.

“Vattiyoorkavu is the constituency where I have been living for the past 25 years. Whether it is my office or my wife’s house, everything is in Vattiyoorkavu. My entire sphere of activity is Vattiyoorkavu itself. Naturally, any public worker would like to contest from their own area of work. That said, the party’s decision will be final,” Krishnakumar told Mathrubhumi.

It is the BJP’s gains in the constituency in recent Assembly elections that are drawing leaders towards Vattiyoorkavu. The party began seeing prospects there after Kummanam Rajasekharan contested in 2016. He made significant gains then, pushing the CPM to third place. Though Kummanam lost to K Muraleedharan by 7,622 votes, he managed to increase the BJP’s vote share by over 20 percent. However, in the 2019 by-election, the BJP slipped back to third place. In 2021, VV Rajesh contested and reclaimed the second position for the BJP.

The Lok Sabha election and the recent local body elections saw the BJP emerge on top in the constituency. In Vattiyoorkavu, which is part of the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, Rajeev Chandrasekhar secured a lead of over 8,000 votes against Shashi Tharoor. The CPM finished third. In the local body elections, of the 22 wards in the Vattiyoorkavu segment within the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation limits, 11 went to the BJP. The UDF won nine wards, while the LDF was reduced to four. These figures are what make Vattiyoorkavu—considered an A-class constituency by the BJP—so attractive to party leaders.

Party leaders had earlier promised to consider Sreelekha as the candidate from Vattiyoorkavu after she failed to get the post of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Mayor. However, once Surendran expressed interest, it appeared that even this second assurance would not materialise. This is said to be the reason behind Sreelekha’s public reaction the other day. She had told the media that she was considered for the Mayor’s post and had entered the fray with the assurance that she would be made Mayor.

As the controversy escalated, she clarified that she was not unhappy about not getting the Mayor’s post, that she would not contest the Assembly election, and that she would continue as a councillor. She had also locked horns with sitting MLA VK Prasanth after raising expectations about contesting from Vattiyoorkavu.

Surendran was earlier being considered by the party for Palakkad. However, those close to him say that if it is not Vattiyoorkavu, he may not contest this time. Surendran is a leader who has contested multiple times for the party and helped increase its vote share. His supporters insist that he should be given a constituency with a real chance of victory. This has put the leaders who had promised Sreelekha in a tight spot. With Krishnakumar also entering the fray publicly, the stance of the BJP’s national leadership will now be crucial.